Nelson: `I'm holding down my spot'

The Magic point guard says anyone new who wants to start must battle him for the job.

July 6, 2005|By Brian Schmitz, Sentinel Staff Writer

There's something decidedly different about Jameer Nelson.

Oh, he still stands just 5 feet 10, but his confidence has grown to Shaq-like proportions.

It's so high now that he's rejecting any notion suggesting he can't be the starting point guard for the Orlando Magic this season.

"I definitely want to be the starter," Nelson said after Tuesday's final summer-league practice at RDV Sportsplex.

Told the Magic were courting another point guard in free agency, Nelson said, "I don't want to sound cocky. . . . But it will be hell for whoever they bring in.

"I'm holding down my spot."

The Magic's free-agent targets -- point guards Antonio Daniels and Earl Watson -- indicate that the team's preference is for Nelson to come off the bench.

The point-guard saga is a hot-button issue, considering Steve Francis is expected to move from the point to shooting guard.

Nelson even supported the thinking, saying of Francis, "I hope we're in the same backcourt together . . . as starters."

Coach Brian Hill said it was too early for him to "predetermine" who will start in the backcourt, adding the Magic might "have yet another point guard in [training] camp."

Whatever, Nelson is ready to take on all-comers. No one heard a peep from Nelson when he was used as a reserve the first half of the season, backing up Francis.

Adjusting to the NBA, he blossomed after the all-star break. Nelson then played well as the starter under coach Johnny Davis after Francis was moved briefly to shooting guard with 29 games remaining. The experiment lasted until Davis was fired. Then Nelson returned to his reserve role under interim coach Chris Jent.

In 21 games as the starter at point guard, Nelson averaged 15.7 points, 5.2 assists and 4.7 rebounds in 38 minutes per game. With more playing time, he nearly doubled his production. Overall, he played 79 games, averaging 8.7 points, 2.4 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 20.4 minutes per game.

Always told he was too short, Nelson is used to hearing the doubters. He carried a chip on his shoulder through a stellar career at Saint Joseph's and into the pros after he tumbled in the draft.

The Magic traded a future first-round pick to the Denver Nuggets last June to grab him at No. 20.

Nelson has been working out since the season ended.

"I can go on vacation when I retire," he said, laughing.

He's already played pickup games against 76ers star Allen Iverson in Philadelphia, near his hometown of Chester, Pa.

"I won four games," Nelson said, smiling, "he had five."

Although he shot 45.5 percent last season, Nelson said he hopes to develop a more consistent jump shot.

"The biggest thing is my decision-making, but it's hard to work on that when you can't find good games," he said. "I want to be the best pick-and-roll guard there is."

There's that new-found confidence again. Oh, and this: Rookies, undrafted free agents and young players who need to polish their skills often comprise summer-league camp rosters.

"This is my last camp," he said.

NOTES: When asked about guard Doug Christie, Hill said that Christie "preferred to be traded somewhere else. . . . It's tough to trade people coming off surgery. Hopefully, he'll have a change of mind." Hill said that was at least his impression of the situation, but Assistant General Manager Dave Twardzik would not confirm or deny Tuesday whether Christie had asked for a trade. "We don't comment on things going on internally," Twardzik said. . . . Magic Director of Basketball Administration Scott Herring said that the reason the club had no problems getting Marcin Gortat into summer-league camp is that Gortat -- unlike first-round pick Fran Vazquez of Spain -- has a provision in his contract with a German team that allows him to attend. Herring reported no progress in the buyout negotiations with Vazquez's Spanish team. Vazquez's contract with that team is keeping him out of Orlando's summer camp. . . . Hill said he expected Dwight Howard "to get a lot of opportunities" to score during the club's five summer-league games in Las Vegas. The Magic's first game is against the New York Knicks on Thursday at Cox Pavilion.